Barrage (dam)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Barrage (disambiguation).
A barrage in Rockhampton, Australia
Marina Barrage, Singapore

A barrage is a type of

French word "barrer" meaning "to bar".[1]

Dam construction

picture of barrage dam

Barrage dams have a series of gates that control the amount of water passing through. A barrage dam can be used to divert water for irrigation needs or limit the amount of water downstream. In most cases, a barrage dam is built near the mouth of the river. The site of dam construction needs to be thoroughly investigated to ensure that the foundation is strong enough to support the dam and has low possibility of failing.

flooding and uses less materials, reducing the production cost.[3]

Environmental impacts

Dam construction has several effects on the

environmental impact, there are also studies that show less damage than expected. Looking at plankton near some dams has shown that plankton is able to continue to live through changes to its habitat. Changes such as the pH levels near dams have been recorded, and plankton was minimally affected. Other species, however, such as trout, are affected more, due to the physical dam inhibiting their migration and reproduction paths.[4] Barrage dams control the amount of water going through them, leading to differences in the amount of water upstream and downstream from the dam. This discrepancy has different effects on different species native to the area. While there can be reduced flow downstream, there can also be problems upstream. Dams can have buildup of pressure that fish are not accustomed to, and they migrate further upstream, causing part of the river to have reduced population sizes.[4]
Although there are environmental effects that come with building new dams, there are also economic benefits from a dam. Without dams, it would be much harder to farm and grow livestock. The irrigation technology that comes with building a dam can exceed the risk factor.

Terminology

According to the World Commission on Dams, a key difference between dam a and a barrage is that a dam is built for water storage in a reservoir, which raises the level of water significantly. A barrage is built for diverting water, and raises the water level by only a few feet. The latter is generally built on flat terrain across wide, often meandering rivers.[6] Similar distinctions are used in Egypt, where it is noted: "In this system a "dam" is a structure that forms a reservoir for the storage of water during the annual flood period of the Nile in order to supplement the natural flow of the river during the low-water period; a "barrage" merely raises the river or canal level, when necessary, to the height required for adequate flow into the canals that take off above it.[7] Barrages are usually larger than the headworks of irrigation and navigation canals, with which they are associated.

Barrages that are commonly used to dam a tidal lagoon or estuary as a method to capture tidal power from tidal flows are known as tidal barrages.

Etymology

The English usage of the term barrage originates from the

British India
, the term barrages made its way to present-day India and Pakistan, as well as to the Middle East and thus generally into English.

See also

References

  1. ^ "barrage | Definition of barrage in English by Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on September 29, 2016.
  2. ^ Wiltshire, R.L. (2002). "100 Years of Embankment Dam Design and Construction in the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation" (PDF). user.
  3. ^ Moran, Toledo, R, M (2014). "Design and Construction of the Barriga Dam Spillway Through an Improved Wedge-Shaped Block Technology". Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[permanent dead link]
  4. ^
    doi:10.1515/trser-2015-0070
    .
  5. ^ Beechie, T.J. (2008). "Biological Impacts of the Elwha River Dam and Potential Salmonoid Response to Dam Removal" (PDF). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ISBN 978-0-8213-5352-3
    . Retrieved 27 April 2011.
  7. ^ Raye R. Platt, Mohammed Bahy Hefny, Egypt: A Compendium Archived 2017-09-11 at the Wayback Machine, p.198, American Geographical Society, 1958.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Barrages.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Barrage_(dam)&oldid=1181701805"